Chapter 61
Chapter 61
Chapter 61
Title: I Put the Magic to Good Use.
Author: ㅇㅇ*
-Light magic, Bohn. As an ancient primitive magic, it disassembles the Archfiend's darkness.
Thanks to that, we defeated the Skaldmagra BOSS MONSTER.
But then another variable occurred.
Choice appears.
1.Just quietly ascend to the 11th floor.
2.Hidden Quest: Grant peace to the Knight of Glory, Dekan.
For reference, the hidden quest difficulty is seven stars.
Ah, in the quest details section, it says if you return to the combat standby line, it counts as giving up, and you can return to the 11th-floor stage.
No matter how I look at it, this part seems like bait.
If you're seriously injured, you'll probably die before you can even get back to the place called the combat standby line.
Is possibility number 2 even feasible? Hmm... doesn't seem like it.
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Would it be?
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The stars... seven of them...!
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Could it be possible...? Climber, remember the path you've walked! You can do it!
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Look at this bastard talking nonsense because it's not his own life on the line lololololol
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(Jjuhdak) The part about it ending if you return to the standby line is definitely bait. It's urging participation by giving a feeling of a minimal safety net.
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(Jjuhdak) Once the battle actually starts, there probably won't be any chance to escape from it.
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(Shrine Maiden) Hawawawa, this, this is totally a shitty bait, desuwa. As expected, just as predicted, it's a completely scumbag method.
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(Archmage) As expected, it seems the primitive magic manifests its power more intensely in the Forest of Bewitching Beasts.
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(Archmage) The time I spent staying up all night for a while to create it recently wasn't in vain.
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(Archmage) Was it worth reading?
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(ㅇㅇ*) Yeah, well, I did read Bohn completely for now. I'll read the rest more later.
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(Archmage) Explaining how incredible it is to be able to use magic through an Aura Circuit would take too long, so I'll have to be satisfied with you putting it to good use.
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(Archmage) If you've only read Bohn, try delving into the rest as well. It'll probably be difficult to use immediately, so do it after going up to the stairway waiting room.
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(Archmage) But seriously, what are you going to do?
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(Sword of Light) Han Yoo-seong, wait a moment.
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Oh, Mr. Light Sword, do you have some method?
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(Sword of Light) Is there no time limit for the choice?
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(ㅇㅇ*) There's plenty of time to ponder. Twelve hours.
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(Sword of Light) Gd
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(Absolute Monarch) Sword of Light, what are you planning to do?
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Hmm, wouldn't it be better to just quickly pick option 1 and go up to the 11th-floor waiting room? Seriously, if you keep worrying, your judgment might get clouded and you might end up pressing option 2.
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Lololololololol Look at how they've basically designated option 2 as the wrong answer.
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Then does that one look like the correct answer?? It's too obviously the wrong answer....
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The choice itself is strongly introducing itself as 'I am hell'.
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(Water King) Go for it!!!!! My friend!!!!!!!!! Life is two-sided!!!!!!! Sometimes you need to take a gamble!!!
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Interpretation: Press option 2 and die.
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(Water King) That's a statement that looks down on your friend too much!!!!
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(ㅇㅇ*) It seems like it'd be okay for you to look down on me a bit.
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(Elf) If you can grant him peace... it would be better to do so... Even though I'm inside the Tower too, when I was happily purifying the Forest of Bewitching Beasts before, I always received help from Dekan, you see.
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(Shrine Maiden) Hawawa, but a Rank 6 swordsman is still too dangerous an opponent for Climber Gong, who is currently Rank 4, desuwa.
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(Ice Queen) Kkongkkong, frozen solid...! I believe in the Climber's judgment! Of course, the rational judgment is to give up on the hidden quest and ascend to the 11th-floor stage.
After scanning the opinions of the seniors in the Transcendent Gallery, who ultimately said I had to make the choice myself, I wrote a comment.
-(ㅇㅇ*) Roughly how big is the difference in weight class between me and Knight Dekan right now?
-(Dragon King) Beltui- It's literally the gap between a child and an adult, yooh.
-(Heavenly Demon) Depending on the situation, one could say the level difference is even greater than that, nira.
-(Scum Sword Saint) The somewhat hopeful thing is your talent, but more than that, your combat sense and judgment are quite excellent.
-(Scum Sword Saint) The problem is, if you rely on that and charge in, he's an opponent you could face instant death against without even having a chance to flee to the combat standby line.
-(Sword of Light) First... the person who taught Dekan something. Anyone who taught him even a single technique, write down what they taught him.
-(Absolute Monarch) What are you preparing right now?
-(Sword of Light) I'm breaking it. Traces of the past. I need to break it first and then judge.
The gallery seniors kept writing comments asking for the senior again due to Senior Light Sword's unclear words, but he showed no intention of appearing for a while.
First, I turned off the gallery and went outside the barracks.
While I was inside the barracks, no one came in.
After I said I was tired from killing the Swarm Lord alone, no one tried to disturb me.
When I came out of the barracks, Yunes slowly approached.
"...May I ask a question?"
I nodded.
"What is it?"
"That... May I ask how you, Yuseong-nim, knew the magic that drives away the darkness and completely illuminates the surroundings? All of us failed."
I tilted my head.
"Did other mages also deploy magic?"
Yunes let out a deep sigh.
"Yes, everyone used the light magic Lux before Yuseong-nim deployed the magic... but before the light could fully manifest, it was swallowed back by the darkness. Including my Lux."
Yunes added.
"But Yuseong-nim managed to do it. I have no idea how, though."
I decided to lie.
Because it was troublesome to explain.
"I obtained a usable artifact. I just used that."
I saw Yunes's brow twitch at my answer.
"...An artifact?"
"Yes."
She seemed to think it was an excuse.
"I see."
But she didn't seem to intend to press further.
"Captain Riselinn said to tell you to come see her when you seem to have rested enough."
"Understood. Let's go."
Following Yunes's guidance, I entered the Captain's barracks.
There, I saw Riselinn, who, despite having completely eliminated the Skaldmagra, which was the original objective, was still handling paperwork with a busy expression.
"Ah! Yuseong."
I could see Riselinn's face brighten as soon as she saw me.
"You've come!"
Just a little bit, though.
Yunes, perhaps feeling awkward with the three of us there, went outside the barracks.
Riselinn had tied up her long blue hair.
"This time, for once, you're not just poofing away and disappearing immediately?"
I originally planned to do that.
But something completely unexpected happened, so I couldn't disappear.
"Can't you see any remaining Skaldmagra either?"
Riselinn nodded with a smile at my question.
"Yes, thanks to you, they've been completely wiped out. Even when we sent search parties, they couldn't find any. They say even other Demonic Beasts are hiding so well they're hardly visible. The Forest of Bewitching Beasts should be quiet for a while."
"That's fortunate then."
Riselinn clasped her hands together.
"I've been making inquiries, in my own way, about whether anyone around here knows about the Death Knight that appeared yesterday."
When I asked Riselinn about Dekan yesterday, she said she only knew there was a strange Death Knight that didn't attack people and only killed Demonic Beasts, but didn't know the narrative he possessed.
"One person said they knew. I called that person just now."
Right after Riselinn finished speaking, a voice came from outside the barracks.
"May I come in?"
"Yes."
The person who lifted the barracks tent flap and entered was Centurion Crevan.
"Please have a seat."
Following Riselinn's guidance, Crevan walked towards the chair next to me, but instead of sitting down immediately, he bowed to me.
"First, I offer my thanks. If you hadn't been here, I'm at a loss as to how we would have killed that thing."
His attitude was completely different from two days ago when he had tried to test me.
"I apologize for my discourtesy on the first day."
"It's fine."
Because now, such a trivial matter didn't matter anymore.
Crevan, who bowed once more at my words, sat in the seat next to me.
"I heard you were looking for someone who knows about the Death Knight, Knight Dekan, that we encountered yesterday."
He knows the name.
"Yes, that's correct."
The probability that he has proper information went up a bit.
"Sir Dekan is also included among the targets for subjugation. As always. But it's been continually postponed because it's difficult to assemble personnel who can reliably eliminate a knight who was Rank 6 in life."
Crevan continued.
"Furthermore, the fact that his targets were Demonic Beasts, not people, was a major reason for turning a blind eye. But when an exception like yesterday happens, it becomes a problem."
He must be referring to the incident yesterday where Dekan almost blew off a soldier's shoulder.
I asked Crevan a question.
"Do you know the process of how he became a Death Knight?"
"Yes, it's also a story I heard from a certain knight. They said Sir Dekan was a knight who always led the charge in purifying the Forest of Bewitching Beasts until about seven years ago. A knight who received numerous medals from the Empire."
Crevan let out a faint sigh.
"Seven years ago, when the Archfiend Black Eye appeared in the Forest of Bewitching Beasts, he was at the forefront. While delivering the final blow, he died together with Black Eye... but at that time, the Forest of Bewitching Beasts, which had been quiet, suddenly became turbulent, and in that situation, they failed to immediately recover the body."
Crevan's words continued.
"After the situation was somewhat sorted out, they tried to retrieve the body again, but the body wasn't in its original location. They searched the forest as much as possible, but even so, recovery failed. They just erected a cross in an empty grave, but a few months after that, he started appearing in the form of a Death Knight, wandering aimlessly through the Forest of Bewitching Beasts."
Crevan tapped the desk with his index finger.
"No matter how you think about it, the amazing thing is, judging by the spiral brand on his neck, it seems he killed the Black Magician who made him into a Death Knight long ago. So he's wandering around in a state with almost no reason left...."
I looked at the map of the Forest of Bewitching Beasts placed on the desk.
"……."
Pandemonium 3rd Floor Stage.
An event that would have happened two years ago in this stage's timeline came to mind.
When I saved the Catfolk.
I wondered why I hadn't encountered Skaldmagra or Dekan in his Death Knight state at all when I saved the Catfolk last time, even though I was in the Forest of Bewitching Beasts, but I think I understand the reason now.
The area I stayed in at that time was the northern outskirts of the Forest of Bewitching Beasts.
The northernmost edge of the Forest of Bewitching Beasts, comparable in size to a small kingdom's territory.
In contrast, my current location is the southernmost part of the Forest of Bewitching Beasts.
They were polar opposites.
It made sense not to encounter them. The period I stayed was also very short.
Seven years.
Dekan lived on in a dead state for too long in this Forest of Bewitching Beasts.
"By any chance, are you thinking of facing Knight Dekan?"
Ignoring Crevan's question, I went outside the barracks and entered my own barracks.
And I posted the story I heard from Crevan in the Transcendent Gallery.
The process of how Dekan became a Death Knight.
-Indeed, his death was fitting for Brother Dekan. The problem is what came after death.
-Seriously.
-Seven years... it's both shorter than I thought. And longer than I thought.
-(Pioneer) It's not long, seven years is.
-(Absolute Monarch) Are you going to do it? Climber.
I stared at the Absolute Monarch's comment for a long time.
-(ㅇㅇ*) My heart is leaning towards doing it.
-Crazy bastard crazy bastard... a properly crazy bastard.
-Ah! The Climber is doing Climber things!
-Who will post the obituary if you die... If you don't log in for more than two days, we'll assume you're dead....
-(Ice Queen) Kkongkkong! Don't say such freezing-to-death words!
-(Dragon King) Beltui- I wish you good fortune in battle, yooh.
A little while later.
-(Sword of Light) Try it.
A comment from the person I was waiting for was posted.
-(Sword of Light) I think I've made the possibility not zero.
-(Sword of Light) Interdimensional trade is complete.
The items were convincing enough to make the statement "made the possibility not zero" fully understandable.
I looked at the two choice options still occupying my field of view.
[1. Move to the 11th-floor stairway waiting room?]
[2. Challenge the 10th-floor stage hidden quest - 'Knight of Glory - Dekan's Peace'?]
[Quest Difficulty - ★★★★★★★]
I don't need rest.
Because I just leveled up.
I'm in peak condition.
I pressed option 2.
A coordinate visible only to me appeared in the sky.
I walked towards it.
-It's a bracelet enchanted with support magic. This seems to be the best help I can give you.
After putting on the bracelet Yunes carefully handed over.
It wasn't that Yunes, scared, only gave a bracelet.
I was the one who declined further help.
Because I was convinced that bringing others along would only be a hindrance.
Thud-
The silhouette of a sword-wielding being was faintly visible in the distance.
There was a solid line in front of my eyes.
This must be the combat standby line.
Everything is my decision.
Even if I return to this starting line and give up.
It must be my choice, based on my experience and judgment.
I have absolutely no intention of giving up, though.
['Visographica' activated.]
A blue sphere rose from the terminal's screen.
The sphere, which serves a role similar to a drone, soon began to turn transparent.
Drawing my sword.
Thud.
I stepped firmly on the starting line and moved forward.
[BOSS MONSTER]
[Knight of Glory - Dekan]